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Synopsis
"I asked the sailor what an Elephant looked like; he replied that it was like nothing on earth."
England, 1766: After a long voyage from the East Indies, a ship docks in Bristol, England, and rumor quickly spreads about its unusual cargo—some say a mermaid is on board. A crowd forms, hoping to catch a glimpse of the magical creature. One crate after another is unpacked: a zebra, a leopard, and a baboon. There's no mermaid, but in the final two crates is something almost as magical—a pair of young elephants, in poor health but alive.
Seeing a unique opportunity, a wealthy sugar merchant purchases the elephants for his country estate and turns their care over to a young stable boy, Tom Page. Tom's family has long cared for horses, but an elephant is something different altogether. It takes time for Tom and the elephants to understand one another, but to the surprise of everyone on the estate, a remarkable bond is formed.
The Elephant Keeper, the story of Tom and the elephants, in Tom's own words, moves from the green fields and woods of the English countryside to the dark streets and alleys of late-eighteenth-century London, reflecting both the beauty and the violence of the age. Nicholson's lush writing and deft storytelling complement a captivating tale of love and loyalty between one man and the two elephants that change the lives of all who meet them.
The Washington Post - Ron Charles
Christopher Nicholson's enchanting first novel is full of the mingled affection and tragedy that have long marked our relationship with the world's largest terrestrial animals. The Elephant Keeper is a strange tour of late 18th-century England, a natural history of elephants and the story of a most unusual friendship, all told with a touch of the otherworldly elegance and wit of Babar…What's evident in every chapter…is Nicholson's attention to these animals, their incongruous heft and grace, the dexterous twist and twirl of their trunks, their haunting sense of wisdom and forbearance. It's no accident that Tom refers to Gulliver's Travels several times. Like Swift's intrepid adventurer, Tom has been won over by an expression of humanity greater than humankind's. You may be, too.